ASEAN | DD News

July 21, 2026 9:32 PM

EAM Jaishankar to visit Philippines for ASEAN, Quad Foreign Ministers’ meetings

External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar will visit Manila, Philippines, on July 22 and 23 to participate in a series of high-level meetings under the ASEAN framework, underscoring India's continued engagement with Southeast Asia under its Act East Policy. During the two-day visit, EAM Jaishankar will attend Foreign Ministers' meetings of the ASEAN-India, East Asia Summit (EAS) and ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF), where regional cooperation, connectivity, security and strategic issues are expected to...

July 16, 2026 3:13 PM

ASEAN envoy says to engage all Myanmar stakeholders, will brief ministers at Manila meeting next week

ASEAN's special envoy on Myanmar will keep talking to all stakeholders in the war-torn country, including armed rebel groups, the Philippines said on Thursday as it prepares to host a meeting of ASEAN foreign ministers next week. Manila, this year's ASEAN chair, is expecting U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov to attend next week's summit, along with ministers from Japan, Australia, Canada and the United Kingdom. Myan...

July 13, 2026 11:31 AM

Myanmar tells ASEAN ‘sister’ Aung San Suu Kyi will be looked after, envoy says

The Southeast Asian bloc ASEAN was told on Sunday by Myanmar's foreign minister that detained former leader Aung San Suu Kyi was "a sister" who was in good health and would be looked after, ASEAN's special envoy to Myanmar said. Maria Theresa Lazaro, the Philippine foreign minister, has been pressing for access to 81-year-old Suu Kyi, who has been held since her elected government was ousted in a 2021 military coup that plunged the country into conflict. "My recollection of the stateme...

May 8, 2026 2:28 PM

Southeast Asian leaders seek strategy to ease impacts of Iran war

Southeast Asian leaders at a summit on Friday stressed an urgent need to coordinate their response to the impacts of the Middle East crisis, as they aim to ease pressure from an energy shock that has rattled their oil import-reliant economies. Meeting on the Philippine island of Cebu, leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations called for a harmonised strategy to ensure energy and food security and head off future crises in a region particularly exposed to a nearly 70-day blockade of ...

May 8, 2026 10:25 AM

Southeast Asian leaders seek strategy to ease impacts of Iran war

Leaders of Southeast Asian countries holding a summit on Friday are expected to thrash out a coordinated response to the impacts of the Middle East crisis, as they aim to ease pressure from an energy shock that has rattled their oil import-reliant economies. Meeting on the Philippine island of Cebu, leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations are expected to press for a harmonised strategy to ensure energy and food security in a region particularly exposed to a nearly 70-day blockade ...

May 7, 2026 4:30 PM

ASEAN summit kicks off with calls for joint response to energy crisis

The fallout of the Middle East crisis took centre stage at meetings of the Southeast Asian bloc ASEAN on Thursday, with renewed calls for a united front in the face of serious challenges for its fuel import-dependent economies. Concerns of energy and food supply security following a blockade of the critical Strait of Hormuz weigh heavy on the bloc of 11 nations, home to nearly 700 million and one of the regions worst-hit after the Iran war choked off energy supplies. The Philippines, this year...

April 13, 2026 4:19 PM

ASEAN foreign ministers urge US and Iran to push for permanent resolution

ASEAN foreign ministers called on Monday for the United States and Iran to continue negotiating a permanent end to their conflict, and to implement the ceasefire fully and effectively. The ministers, who met virtually to discuss the war in the Middle East, also called for the restoration of safe, unimpeded and continuous passage of vessels and aircraft in the Strait of Hormuz. Beyond immediate security concerns, ASEAN highlighted the broader implications of the conflict on regional stability, ...

January 22, 2026 1:26 PM

ASEAN chair Philippines hosts Myanmar ‘stakeholder meeting’ to push stalled peace bid

The Philippines, the current chair of ASEAN, this week hosted a meeting of "important political groups" from army-ruled Myanmar, officials said on Thursday, in an effort to advance the regional bloc's long-stalled peace plan. Philippine Foreign Affairs Secretary Ma. Theresa Lazaro, who took over this year as ASEAN's special envoy to the crisis in Myanmar, said discussions at the "stakeholders' meeting" in Tagaytay included talk of de-escalation, facilitating aid delivery and fostering political...

January 20, 2026 10:18 AM

ASEAN will not certify Myanmar election or send observers, Malaysia says

The 11-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations will not send observers to army-ruled Myanmar's ongoing three-stage election and will therefore not endorse the poll, Malaysia's foreign minister said on Tuesday. Myanmar has been ravaged by conflict since the military staged a coup against a civilian government in 2021. The election, which began in December last year, has been criticised by the United Nations, many Western countries and rights groups as a ploy to legitimise military rule th...

October 26, 2025 9:36 AM

East Timor, Asia’s youngest nation, becomes ASEAN’s 11th member

Asia's youngest nation East Timor on Sunday became the 11th member of the Southeast Asian bloc ASEAN, fulfilling a vision set out by its current president nearly a half-century ago while under Portuguese rule. Also known as Timor-Leste, the country of 1.4 million people is among Asia's poorest and hopes to see gains from integrating its fledgling economy, which at about $2 billion represents only a tiny fraction of ASEAN's collective $3.8 trillion gross domestic product. East Timor's accession...